


Afterwards

by watchfob



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Rainbow Drinkers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-08
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 10:08:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watchfob/pseuds/watchfob
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Today was the day you would show Alternia what you were made of. You were supposed to compete for and claim your rightful position in society. You were supposed to make your mentor proud.</p>
<p>You were not supposed to die. </p>
<p>Your name is Kanaya Maryam and you are now a rainbow drinker. What will you do?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afterwards

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bonus Round 1 of the HSO. Prompt: Dolorosa ♦ Kanaya -- coming of age, vampires.

She puts her hand on your head and you try not to cry.

This isn't how you imagined this day would go. This was the day of your assignment, the day you would have been given the job and position in society you have coveted for so long. You were hatched for it, you think. 

But now you are dead, and you cannot do anything about it. The violet-blood's cheap shot cost you your life and your opportunities. How embarrassing to have been bested in only the second round of the application process. You barely even had a chance to prove yourself.

But that's all over now. Now, you stand in the basement of the holding center. Your mentor stands next to you, silent, and you wonder if she ever saw something like this coming. Around you, the bodies of young trolls decorate the ground. These are the ones who, like you, did not make it through the round. 

You can still feel the heat of the beam piercing through you, scorching a hole through your center. The crowd had erupted into cheers and applause. They like a good show, even if it's an unfair one. Especially if it's an unfair one.

She puts her arms around you and you bury your face into her. She is much taller than you; she's had sweeps to grow and train young trolls to fight for their future positions. 

This is the first time any one of them has come back from a fatal wound. You try not to think of how similar you are and how differently your fates played out. Instead, you concentrate on the scent of her and the feel of her hands stroking your back.

It is very comforting. 

"You did well out there," she says. 

"Not well enough," you mumble. Her hand pauses on your back and she scoffs. 

"Don't be silly. If that seadweller had complied with regulation rules, you would still be out there, advancing to the next round."

"What really were the chances of that." You look up to her sadly. Her lips are drawn into a thin line. You grimace slightly as you realize the faint glow illuminating her face is coming from you. 

You pull away from her and look down at your hands. A dull white light envelops them. It's soft enough to make you think your eyes might just be playing tricks on you. 

"At least you are still... er--"

"Alive?" you finish for her with a humorless smile.

"In a manner of speaking."

You suppose that's worth something. But being a rainbow drinker is nothing like you expected. You weren't even aware you could become one without having been bitten first. And it is a lot less glamorous than your novels make out.

You don't feel elegant and deadly. You don't feel powerful or clever or particularly devious. You just feel tired and disappointed. And -- hungry.

They at least get that right. The intensity of it catches you off guard, though. It starts off with a slight smoldering in your phantom gut and quickly races upward and outward, consuming you entirely until you're overwhelmed with the desire, the _need_ to feed. 

You feel a set of hands on your shoulders and realize you're shaking. Your mentor is holding you -- holding you back? -- and you silently thank her for the distraction.

"You need to eat," you hear her say. "Drink?" She is not versed in this vernacular. 

She lets go, begins to pull down her collar, and kneels next to you. You hesitate. Staring at her exposed neck both makes you nervous and exacerbates your hunger. 

"I don't know how--" 

"You have to learn." She gives you a pointed look. "If you don't now, there might be consequences later." 

"Perhaps I could... practice on one of the other," you counter, "retired competitors." 

“We haven’t much time,” she reminds you. “The round is almost over. Soon the clean up crew will arrive to clear out the room.”

You aren’t sure, exactly, why she is so casual about this. Or why she’s offered herself up as a meal when there are perfectly viable sources of blood around you. But it means something, you think, so you stoop down and try not to make too much of a mess. You’ve already gotten her dress bloody when you hugged her. A shame, really -- it was lovely.

She makes a noise of discomfort. “Try not to bleed me dry,” she says with an attempt at humor. You stop, because you’re not sure how to guage how much she could do without. You’re still pretty hungry, but the hunger is no longer all-consuming. 

She puts a hand up to her throat and you notice the room has become brighter. Wait -- no. You’ve become brighter. Your glow is stronger now, now that you’ve got something in you.

“Come on,” she says and grabs your hand. She tugs you toward a chute near the far wall. It’s labelled TRASH. Presumably, the bodies will be disposed there. 

“What?” 

“Somehow I do not think it would go over well if a rainbow drinker were found in the holding center,” she says, and pushes you toward the chute.

“I don’t think it would go over well anywhere,” you say, the realization dawning on you. “What am I going to do?”

She looks at you and says nothing. She has been your mentor, but now that you are dead, you are no longer her responsibility. Your future is entirely up to you. The time to rely on others is over. 

“I’m... going hunting,” you decide. The chute is metal and cold and it is not a comfortable ride down. But when you hear her jump in after you, you smile the entire way.


End file.
